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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28276044">Comforts of Home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlliCassandra/pseuds/AlliCassandra'>AlliCassandra</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Rutherford one-shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Comfort Food, F/M, Fluff, Not Beta Read, Reunions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:08:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,961</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28276044</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlliCassandra/pseuds/AlliCassandra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Inquisitor is back from the Emprise de Lion and is eager to be reunited with Cullen. Pure fluff!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Rutherford one-shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2071398</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Comforts of Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Here I am with another Dragon Age fic! I have <i>never</i> posted Cullen/Inquisitor fic*, so go easy on me! This fic in particular involved a lot of deleting and rewriting for a fluff fic, so I would really appreciate it if you could leave a comment or kudos if you liked it. I definitely plan to post more Cullen/Inky fics, but probably after I get a bit of my Viago/Teia obsession out of my system lol. Anyway, I hope all the lovely DA fans out there reading this have a safe and happy holiday season and here is to hoping 2021 is a better year than 2020!</p><p>*A surprising fact considering they are very much my OTP for this fandom.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Though Evie’s whole body ached from a ride back from the Emprise de Lion (and she was tired and sore and she felt more like an ice sculpture than a person.) she wanted to see her man. When they first started seeing each other, Evie told herself time apart would get easier. Yet after nine months working for the Inquisition—three as an agent and six as Inquisitor—separation hadn’t gotten easier. She missed Cullen and no letter eased the miles between them. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Letters chaffed, reminding her of days in the Circle, when she’d had to be content writing letters to family and friends, as if the practice would be enough. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was never enough. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Letters didn’t tell you if a person got a hair cut, gained or lost weight, or stubbed a toe. You couldn’t admire a new coat in a letter or listen to the creak of new shoes. Letters remained distant in ways seeing someone face to face never wasn’t.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As much as she wanted to sleep in her canopy bed with thick hangings to block light instead of a bedroll on the dirt, to eat a bowl of warm tomato soup from the kitchen—even if there was a risk of burning her tongu—instead of more dry provisions, to sink into a bubbly hot bath… She wanted to see Cullen more than she wanted any of those other luxuries. Which was saying a lot. She had grown in up Ostwick, one of the coastal city-states. She complained about the cold as much as Dorian and Varric—it drove Cassandra mad. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Yet all of those luxuries—fresh soup, her soft bed and so on—could wait. She missed Cullen’s calming presence, his integrity—she even missed him being stubborn and digging his heels in like a determined horse who didn’t want to cross through a stream when they disagreed. (She smiled picturing Cullen objecting to being compared to a horse.)</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She swung off her horse. She swore she heard popping as she swung off her horse. Urgh, she needed to move around. She spent about a minute arguing with the stable girl. Despite being tired and wanting to see her boyfriend, she was happy to brush Speckles! Though Evie would never admit it to anyone out loud, it was a relief for the stable girl to insist that “it’s an honor to care for Your Worship’s horse!” and to watch her lead Speckles away. All the quicker to get to her Commander. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Because she wanted to see him, it seemed to take forever to get to the turret where Cullen lived and worked. Up two flights of stairs to get into the castle; into the great hall where jealousy stabbed her seeing Varric warming himself, settling down with a pen and paper doubtless to write; past Solas muttering a quick “talk to you later!” reminding herself to ask him to tell her a story about the Fade later; and pushing open the wooden door that led to the battlements. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">At this point, she broke out into a run, a big smile on her face as she remembered her and Cullen’s first kiss on a similar battlement. She didn’t care about her brown hair flying everywhere, undoing her braid. Up the smallest flight of stairs yet and she pushed open the door, panting a little, yet triumphant. She smoothed her hair, wavy from the braid. Maybe she should have freshened up first. Cullen was a remarkable boyfriend, while she knew he hardly cared about fashion or hairstyles, she still wanted to look attractive, maybe even sexy. It had been many years since she had felt a pull to any man, that a man had captivated her like Cullen did, and as a result she wanted to take Cullen’s breath away. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“If you’re one of Leliana’s runners, I told you I’d have the report by the end of the day—” Then his expression changed from adorable yet annoyed, to delighted. “Eve!”</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">They crossed the final gap between them, wrapping arms around each other in a hug that lasted for over a minute. Then, they reeled the other in close for a swift, warm kiss that left Evie gasping for breath after in a much different way than she’d felt a few moments ago trekking up stairs. As she pulled away, she smelled that lovely smell of elderflowers and oak moss. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“Glad to not be seeing one of Leliana’s runners?” She teased, a hand on his chest. Her eyes twinkled as she teased him. “Worried you’ll be caught slacking?” Cullen, of course, wouldn’t be caught dead taking a break. Which was precisely why she liked teasing him about the idea. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“I never—I wouldn’t—” He was as red as the first time she had flirted with him. Adorable! “I know you’re teasing me and yet I <em>always</em> fall for it. How much do you owe Varric?”</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“No bet. I just like making you blush. It’s cute,” Evie said, titling her head upward again for another kiss. When they broke apart, he reached down to kiss her brown hair. Evie stood there bubbling with happiness as he planted her hair with kisses. She leaned in a little and closed her eyes. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“I missed you so much,” she said as he drew her close. She let her arms fall around his waist. Cullen gave the best hugs. A gentle squeeze that assured comfort and protection. “Letters aren’t the same.” </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Cullen let out a long sigh that said everything. “I understand completely. Whenever you’re gone—I keep listening for the door to open. When it does my heart starts racing, and I find myself upset when it’s only someone delivering a message or one of my men wanting to discuss something.” He leaned his forehead against hers and began to stroke her hair. “I’m glad you came to visit me, but I hope you’re not too tired.” </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“Or hungry, or sore or you get the idea—” Evie broke off her list with another small kiss. “It’s worth it, though.” </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“I know better than anyone what it’s like to have a taxing job,” Cullen said, reaching over to put away the papers he’d been working on when she’d arrived. Evie squinted at them just before they disappeared from sight. Training exercises for the troops? “You should get something to eat, change, and go get some sleep. Everything else—the Inquisition, us, can wait until tomorrow morning.” </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“But I’ve missed you,” Evie said, tugging slightly on his furs. The action reminded her of her students from the Circle tugging at her robes when they wanted something, and she couldn’t even be annoyed with herself for being a hypocrite doing something that had once annoyed her. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Cullen laughed as he leaned in a little, her pulled close, his hand on her neck. “As I have missed you. But you need rest, food, and sleep. I don’t want to distract you—” </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Evie stared at him, determined. “You’re only ever a <em>slight</em> distraction.”</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">He snorted. “All right.” Cullen gave the sigh of a man defeated. “Why don’t you go to your room, change into some pajamas and get into bed, and I’ll bring you some soup? We can catch up while you eat and then I’ll leave you to your rest.” </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">She had to admit… This was an appealing plan. Getting out of these wrinkled traveling clothes, and <em>oh Maker</em> soup! </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“And bring me some bread too?” She knew bargaining was absolutely a trick used by her students at the Circle—and sometimes it had worked, depending on how much she had wanted their cooperation. When it had came to get out of homework, however, it had rarely worked. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">A soft laugh. “Yes. And bread, too. Now go! I’ve got enough to worry about without you too.” </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Of course, a walk back anywhere in Skyhold was a long one, especially if you were already tired. By the time she passed Varric again—now snoozing in his chair, hand still on his ink bottle—that Evie could feel the tiredness catching up now that she wasn’t with Cullen. She paused to throw a blanket over Varric and she trudged towards her door—but not before being stopped by two diplomats and Josephine. Josephine she tried really hard to hide the exhaustion she was certain showed in her face, but she may have lost her temper a bit by the time she had talked with the last diplomat. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">It was, therefore, with relief that she shut the door to the corridor that lead to her bedchamber with a sigh. She left it unlocked, and hoped she would remember to tell Cullen to lock it behind him when he left. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Through the hallway that lead to the stairs, thought another door and—Maker, why did her last flight of stairs seem the longest? Even after climbing up and down hills so much on the Inquisition’s clock, those stairs were still a pain when she was tired. She lit a fire and sighed as the flames crackled to life. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">She retrieved her pajamas from the nearby dresser and gladly changed into them, already feeling much warmer and drier now that she wasn’t in her riding clothes. Climbing into bed, she grabbed a book of Varric’s she hadn’t read and gladly lost herself in it. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Until she heard the sound of someone clearing his throat. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">The book forgotten, she turned to beam up at Cullen. True to his word as always, he held out a tray containing a bowl of soup, complete with a spoon and a small slice of beard. Cullen had even brought her a mug of something that she could see steam rising from. She sniffed. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“Oh, I can smell the tomatoes!” She said as she took the tray from Cullen and placed it in front of her. “And did you bring me hot chocolate?”</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“I did.”</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“Best boyfriend ever!” Granted, she only had a pool of one to compare Cullen to from before, but still. She saw him smiling out of the corner of her eye as she took her first bite of soup, sighing in bliss. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“I know it’s cold here, but the Lion just seemed so much worse, even if Red Lyrium <em>does</em> give off heat,” Evie commented. “But all cold will always feel <em>terrible</em> to me. Maybe it’s growing up on the coast.” She shrugged. “I know to the Ferelden I probably seem like a wimp, but—”</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Cullen scoffed. “Why do you think I wear this heavy fur in addition to armor? I don't discuss it, but I’m a wimp too.” </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">This made Evie laugh. “Tell me about what’s been going on since I left Skyhold? Has Blackwall acted on his feelings for Josie? Varric and I started a bet about that while we were gone.” </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“I hope you voted in favor of Blackwall, because yes, once a week he hikes up the slopes and then a courier brings Josephine flowers. You should ask Josephine about it. I think she’s still got this week’s on her desk.” </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">Evie swallowed a bite of soup and then facepalmed. “<em>No</em>! I now owe Varric five sovereigns!”</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“Didn’t think he would have the courage?”</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“No way, with all his angst I thought he wouldn’t do anything!”</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“Unfortunately, it looks like you’ll be paying up.” </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">She raised her eyebrows. “Say, why don’t <em>you</em> hike up a mountain to bring me flowers? That’s romantic!”</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">“I just trekked all the way from <em>my office</em> to the kitchens and then to <em>your room</em> with this meal and it was <em>still</em> hot when I arrived.” He smiled at her even as he crossed his arms. “I think I do plenty.”</span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <span class="s1">She flashed him a smile before taking a drink of her hot chocolate. “You do.”</span>
</p>
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